The small asteroid, designated C9FMVU2, was first spotted on Thursday morning (Sept. 7), only a few hours before it made its closest approach to Earth. At 10:25 a.m EDT (1425 GMT), the space rock passed the planet at a distance of only 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) — about 1% of the Earth-moon distance. For comparison, satellites of the U.S. navigational and positioning constellation GPS orbit at an altitude of 12,550 miles (20,200 km).
Because the asteroid is so small it never posed any danger to Earth, the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a post Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Had the asteroid collided with the planet, it would have burned up in Earth's atmosphere, causing a spectacular fireball. A few small fragments would likely have made it to the planet's surface.
Source: www.space.com
No comments:
Post a Comment